Another big scoring quarter for the opponents cost the Portland girls basketball team for the second-straight game.

On Friday, Portland took a lead into the fourth quarter, only to have the Greyhounds of Eaton Rapids make good on most of their free-throw attempts down the stretch. Despite a late three-point play by senior Kelsey Spitzley, the Lady Raiders were handed their second loss in as many games, falling by a score of 46-41.

Portland coach Ray Kimball said his team was able to create scoring chances, but unable to capitalize on them in key moments of the game.

"We had plenty of opportunities to put the ball in the bucket," he said. "We got good looks, but to win tight games against good teams you have to make key shots and unfortunately we didn't make enough of them."

Like their game against DeWitt on Thursday, the Raiders controlled tempo early on. However, other than an offensive spurt in the second, they were unable to find the basket consistently.

After Portland took a 20-13 advantage at the break, the Raiders clung to a four-point lead at 28-24 heading into the final period, thanks to a putback bucket at the buzzer by senior Maddie King.

At the other end of the court, the Greyhounds were able to pick up their play during the final eight minutes. Out of their 22 fourth-quarter points, 14 of them came from the free-throw line during the final four minutes of play. Eaton Rapids made 14 of 15 attempts from the stripe during that stretch.

"The girls stepped up and did a nice job with their foul shooting," Eaton Rapids Coach Willis Whitmyer said. "Overall, I think not letting (Portland) get into rhythm shooting 3s was key to the game. We held our press off until the end and we did a nice job with our guard pressure and kept them off rhythm, which was big for us."

Portland held off the Greyhounds over the first 5:20 of the fourth quarter. That's when Eaton Rapids senior Bianca Cavazos completed a fast break with a layup to give her team a 34-32 lead, its first since early in the second quarter.

After King split a pair of attempts from the line, Greyhound junior center Allie Dittmer was able to grab an offensive rebound and fight through a foul to score on the putback. She added the free throw to give the Hounds a 37-33 advantage with 2:07 left.

Dittmer's three-point play sparked a modiest 6-1 run, but it gave Eaton Rapids a six-point cushion (40-34) with 54.7 seconds to go.

Portland reduced their deficit to 42-38 with 16.4 seconds left when senior Nicole Green scored on an inbounds play.

On the ensuing inbounds attempt, junior Kate Blake intercepted a long pass at midcourt and quickly found Spitzley in the paint. The senior drove to the basket and scored while drawing a foul. She hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and make it a 42-41 game.

Page 2 of 2 - After a timeout, the Greyhounds got to midcourt where Portland's Allison Russell pressured guard Kelsey Johnson and bumped her while denying a clear path to dribble. Russell was called for a foul on the play, which the official felt was intentional. Eaton Rapids got the two free throws and the ball back.

Johnson sealed the game by making her attempts from the stripe. She also capitalized on two more after a technical foul call.

Despite suffering their second loss of the season, Kimball said he was happy with his players' effort and fortitude down the stretch.

"A lot of teams would have quit in that situation," he said. "But with the character of our kids, you know that's not going to happen.

"They are going to compete until the final buzzer goes off and they did that tonight. They gave themselves an opportunity."

Scoring runs dictated the first half of the game as both teams took advantage of scoring spurts.

After the Raiders built an 8-2 lead early, Eaton Rapids responded with a 9-0 surge to take an 11-9 advantage early in the second. With 6:30 left before the half, Russell snapped the Greyhound run with a 3-pointer to tie the game and spark a 12-2 outburst that gave the Raiders a seven-point lead at the break.

Portland took a 23-13 lead early in the third when the Lady Hounds went off on a 9-3 run, making it a one-point game, before Spitzley hit a 3 with under a minute left.

King paced Portland with 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists. Spitzley finished with 11 points and Madison Adams chipped in with nine.

Dittmer led Eaton Rapids with 19 points and Bailey Barker finished with eight.

Portland (7-2) will be off until Jan. 8 when the Raiders travel to East Lansing to take on another Lansing Area power in the Lady Trojans.

Eaton Rapids (7-2) will also return to play on Jan. 8 at home against Ionia.